Desann (B)

Desann hailed from a world where the Force was a strange, unfamiliar thing. Thus, he was shunned by his own people and lived a life of loneliness and despair, until a trader found him and took him to Luke Skywalker's Jedi Praxeum on Yavin 4.

Desann then became a Jedi apprentice of Skywalker's, but soon began bullying his comrades. He eventually killed Havet Storm, one of his fellow Jedi, for standing up to his bullying ways and claimed that he was "too weak to be a Jedi." This turned him to the dark side of the Force, and he fled the Academy, before the other Jedi could counsel him.

Desann forged an alliance with Admiral Galak Fyyar of the Imperial splinter group known as the Empire Reborn, and Fyyar took him to his secret master, the former Procurator of Justice, Lord Hethrir. Hethrir overcame his xenophobia to make Desann his second in command, and tasked Desann with training several of Hethrir's Empire Youths: Force-sensitive individuals who had shown devotion to the Empire Reborn and had been "purified" by the extradimensional being known as Waru. Desann took one of the Youths, Tavion Axmis, as his apprentice.

In addition to training those with talent, Desann experimented with imbuing Force-weak Human Empire Youths (chosen by Hethrir for reasons of racial dogma rather than pragmatism) with dark side powers, using Artusian crystals and Sith alchemical secrets. To fulfill this twisted scheme, his forces captured Artus Prime, where the crystals were mined. New Republic agents Kyle Katarn and Jan Ors were sent by Mon Mothma to investigate, and Jan Ors was captured. Desann decided to use her to his advantage: he had long searched for the Valley of the Jedi, for the Valley's power would be of considerable help in his plan to connect his servants with the dark side of the Force. But only Katarn and Jan Ors knew of the Valley's location. When Kyle attempted to rescue his partner Desann intervened and easily beat Kyle by using only the Force and Katarn found himself on the receiving end of a Force Grip. Desann then ordered Tavion to kill her. Unbeknownst to Katarn, this was but a ruse to anger him and have him go to the Valley, and Jan Ors was retained aboard the Remnant flagship, the Doomgiver.

Thinking that his partner was dead, Kyle thirsted for revenge and in consequence traveled to the Valley of the Jedi, to regain his connection to the Force; but Desann was tracking him. The Dark Jedi brought his band of Empire Youth students with him to absorb the Valley's power, forming an army of dark warriors called the Reborn. He also took with him a small portion of his stormtroopers, and they became shadowtroopers, Force-sensitive soldiers armed with lightsabers and encased in cortosis armor enhanced by Artusian crystals. After receiving the Valley's coordinates from Katarn, Luke Skywalker went to investigate the site. With the help of Rogue Squadron, the New Republic chased Desann's forces away from the Valley. Desann fled to the Cairn Installation in the Lenico Belt, where the Doomgiver docked. Katarn and Skywalker then infiltrated the installation, when Kyle broke into Doomgiver's bridge, Desann launched a surprise attack against Skywalker. Luke dueled his former student in the docking bay, but was Force Pushed to a vulnerable position and trapped by a pile of rubble unleashed by Desann's saber throw. Luke was uninjured, but Desann managed to board the Doomgiver and launch the ship to his ultimate target.

Desann then attacked the Jedi Academy on Yavin 4. Despite Rogue Squadron's interference, Desann safely landed with most of his forces, and the army advanced on the Academy from three different directions. Desann and a small group of his minions fought into the heart of the Academy, leaving his subordinates to deal with New Republic troops and Jedi, the Dark Jedi Master entered the tunnels under the Great Temple, seeking the Force nexus underground. Kyle Katarn followed closely, and Desann employed various traps and illusions to evade the Jedi.

Eventually Desann successfully absorbed the power in the Force nexus before being confronted by Katarn. Declaring a new future for the galaxy, Desann was surprised to find out that Katarn helped destroy the Doomgiver and most of the forces aboard, including Galak Fyyar. When Katarn revealed that even the elite shadowtroopers fell victim to the Academy's true Jedi, Desann realized he had underestimated Kyle. Desann tried to convert Katarn to his cause, but instead received a counter offer: Kyle invited Desann back to the Jedi. Enraged, Desann engaged Katarn in a duel, only to discover that his adversary's skill and power had grown beyond his own abilities. The duel ended when Katarn struck down the Dark Jedi, looking with sadness at his lifeless body.

Some of the Reborn who served under Desann would go on to join the Disciples of Ragnos, led by Desann's former apprentice, Tavion Axmis.